Purity
by Star Studielle
Summary: When Zara, an orphan taken in by the Pure Ones, finds herself torn between her loyalties, has a choice to make, and many battles after it. I suck at summaries, this is based off The film, books and games, eg Ezlryb isn't dead Ocx? T for later chapters
1. Purity Chapter 1

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 1 ~ Hatching

I am Zara, I was born without knowledge of my mother or father, I was found as an egg in a hollow and I was taken in by a group of patrolling owls; that is what I am told and what I believe.

I am a Tyto Alba, my feathers are the purest of black and brown, my own parents would have killed me, seeing that I am not the natural colour of the Tytos. Nyra, the new leader of the army of owls, took me in when I was born, making sure I grew into a strong, confident Tyto, to serve the Pure Ones.

3 months before The Battle with the Flecks- When Metalbeak fell

"Lexis, what have you found?" a large, armoured Tyto asked a cross bred bird, a Crow and Owl Hybrid, she had Blue gems set in metal helmet with leather around her Talons.

"Look" She lifted her left set of talons that held tightly in it, a creamy white ball

"An egg? Crush it" He said turning around, sighing disapprovingly of the Hagsfiend for wasting his time

"But wouldn't it be a great soldier for your Pure Ones?" The Hagsfiend jumped and flapped her wings; she landed infront of the Owl

"...Yes, it would, and if not, a great picker" he chuckled and snatched the egg off of the Hagsfiend "Lexis"

"Yes?" she asked

"Not a word" He smirked and flew out of the Hollow "Pure Ones! Back to St Aegolius!" The owl called as the remaining soldiers lifted off of the branches and flew out to follow the leading owl, leaving only three Hagsfiends

"Yes Allomere..." The Hagsfiend smiled

2 months later the egg was beginning to hatch, it was in a hollow area in the side of the rocky wall, it was lay on feathers and some small parts of branches, a white Tyto was lay next to it and curled her wing over it to keep it warm

"C'mon young one, hatch!" she whispered to the egg, soon after some violent shaking within the egg, a small crack split the pure white picture, and after a few moments, more of the egg shell split, cracking and faint chirping echoed around the quiet, empty hollow, more and more of the chick began to emerge and less and less the shell seemed to resemble an egg.

"That's it! Not much more now little one" the soft voiced comforted the small chick as she kicked the last bit of shell restricting her and squirmed her way out of the bowl-like piece of shell.

"Lord Nyra! Has it hatched?" a Sooty owl walked into the chamber her tail feathers stained with red

"Yes, Krietra" Nyra lifted her wing showing the Pink, feather-less owlet, squirming around and chirping.

"Number 5682-16" Krietra leaned her claws over to grab it, Nyra jerked her head and bite down on Krietra's middle talon, she screeched and jumped backwards, Nyra let go.

"This one will not be a slave! It is a Tyto!" Nyra shouted at Krietra "She is a Pure One!"

Krietra limped a few steps away "She? What is her name then?" her talon started bleeding

_I can finally have the child Metalbeak couldn't give me! _"Zara" the little chick gurgled and cuddled herself down into the feathers of her nest.

34 days later and I could finally see my flight feathers coming through-at least I think they're my flight feathers- "Nyra, will I be able to branch soon?" I asked my foster mother, she had raised me for first month of my life, she seemed like the mother I never had, and I was the child she never had, I heard her once say that to her maid, Krietra, who also looked after me when Nyra was out hunting or with her husband, Metalbeak.

Metalbeak never really loved me, he never really loved her I always thought, when I saw them together they were not in love with each other, only one of them was in love, she loved him more than he did to her, Metalbeak always glared at me when he saw me with Nyra, I do think he is jealous, still I don't know why, but Nyra always used to preen my feathers and make my life easier than the other owlets in St Aegolius, and she used to bring me sweet berries that were so soothing when the juicy liquid trickled down my throat.

"Tonight, good light Zara" Nyra curled her wings into her side and twisted her head into her chest, Metalbeak walked into the chamber and gave me another glare with his one able eye, and his misty blue eye just looked liked a ball of murky water, he stood close next to Nyra and held his wings together and hid his head under his massive wings.

_Where do I sleep? _I walked up to Nyra and leaned close to her side, she lifted her eyelid and smiled "I'm cold" Nyra put her wing over my body, I noticed that only fifteen days ago I was the height of Nyra's leg, Now I am half the size of her _I've been growing a lot recently. _I cuddled into her side and closed my eyes to sleep and wait until tonight to start branching.

"Good Night Zara" I heard a soft voice echo in my head, I lifted my eyelids open slightly to see who it was, I saw a dark brown and white face staring at my face, I realised I was lay down on my nest

"Good Night Krietra, What time is it?" I asked yawning, a little tickle caught in my throat

"Just gone midnight" Krietra turned around "go on then" she said sharply

_What is she-? _I couldn't finish, I was yarping a pellet, I felt it rise up out of my throat, I coughed violently and spat it out to the corner of the room, I was left out of breath again "E-every time! Every time it's a struggle!" I whined to myself, Krietra heard me

"Don't worry, it won't be when you're slightly older, probably by tomorrow it will be as quick as a snake in grass" she said grabbing my pellet and throwing it out of the chamber "I'll take that to the Pelletorium in a minute"

"Where's Nyra, Krietra?" I asked looking around

"She's gone to introduce the new owlets to St Aegolius, and Metalbeak has gone to speak with... 'The Guardian'" She smirked

"'The Guardian'? Who or what's a guardian?" I said curiously

"_Never_ ask that! They are our _enemy_!" Krietra snapped and screeched at me "No who's, no what's no how's!" she raised her body high and lifted her wings, she puffed out her feathers making herself nearly twice her size, she was readying to attack

"I'm sorry!" I shouted, lowering myself into my nest and covering my body with my wings

It went quiet for about half a minute, I wondered what happened and looked up; Krietra was gone, along with my pellet

"Am I ever going to be friends with my Sitter?" I sighed as I asked myself out loud

"Don't think so young'un, Krietra's not one to make friends with owlets" I heard a voice outside of my chamber, the rock wall was thin enough to hear outside

"Who's that?" I asked, I lifted my wings into a defensive position

"Oh only Grimble, I'll be round in a minute" the voice answered, I could hear wings beats slowly fading away, _Grimble? Who's that? _At that moment I saw a Boreal owl with his feathers stained red and white, slightly resembling Nyra

"Grimble?" I asked the owl

"You catch on fast" He walked in to my chamber "I'm your new sitter" he smiled "and you are...?"

"Zara" I said lifting my body from its defence position "What happened to Krietra?"

"She had a little... persuasion, letting me be your sitter" he turned a little "Zara, do you know what Metalbeak is doing when he's not here?"

"No, actually" I never really thought about where Nyra and Metalbeak go, mainly because I have Krietra to talk to, not much of a talker but it was better sitting on my own

"Do you want to know?" he asked me, _Of course! _I walked up to him and he took me under his wing "Well, let me show you" we walked out of my chamber, I hadn't been out of my chamber since the moment I hatched, I was always kept in my chamber, I stepped out of my chamber on to some hard rock, I was always so used to the soft floor, my feet felt cool under it, I could hear my talons scratch against the rock

"What is this?" I asked

"This? It's only rock" he chuckled "You haven't been out of your chamber have you?" I shook my head and he looked slightly surprised "well Zara this will be a great chance to see your home" he lifted his wings, I turned to see what his wings were facing and I saw canyons and towers of orange and grey rocks, Owls and other flying creatures gliding and flapping all across the canyons, I saw some blue glow underneath the ledge on which me and Grimble were standing on.

"Wow..." I said _This is so massive! _

"Zara, follow me to my chamber" Grimble's voice dropped to a whisper he walked to the left of the ledge and prepared to take off for flight

"Grimble! I can't fly!" I called loudly to Grimble, he turned quickly and dropped down his wings

"Oh, sorry, let me take you" he lifted his wings again and launched himself at me

"What-!" I shut my eyes, I could feel him putting his talons over my body, I couldn't feel the rock under my feet anymore, I felt light and heavy at the same time, I opened my eyes to see Grimble carrying me in his talons, I looked down and saw the floor, 5 miles down, Grimble was taking me to his chamber, we flew under arches of rocks and around corners, we dived downwards towards the floor, Grimble slowed up when we got to a bridge-like ledge, Grimble dropped me gently on the ledge, I lay on my side for a moment, still stunned by the sudden flight. Grimble landed next to me and nudged me up

"C'mon get inside, quickly" he whispered I stood up quickly like he said and walked into his chamber, Grimble followed


	2. Purity Chapter 2

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 2 ~ Lessons

I walked into a large cavern-like gap in the rocky tower, I stepped over some long, wide sticks, Grimble was walking close behind me, somehow I thought it was like he was covering me, his whole shadow covering my body, I looked around, there were red block-like things and bones on the floor, and white and cream things with a light on top were scattered across the whole room.

"Grimble what are these?" I asked pointing my talon to the White thing

"Quiet for a moment, then I'll explain" His voice dropped to a whisper, he gently tapped my back to make me move inside the cavern more, I took about ten more steps inside the cavern, I turned to Grimble, he smiled "You can relax now" I obeyed and relaxed my legs and sat down, barely making my talons noticeable, I sat on some feathers "You like my nest?" he asked

"Yes, it's very... roomy" I smiled Looking around the cavern again "So what are these things?"

Grimble grabbed a shiny metal circle, the white thing was balanced on top, he hopped over and showed it to me "This is a candle" he said "Be careful, it's hot"

"Wow, it's so pretty" I said looking at the light on top of the candle

"This is a flame, it's fire on top of the candle" he explained again, he put down the candle and grabbed a red and white block, he put it down infront of me "Touch it" I did as he said, I put my talons over the cover, it felt cool "This is a book, the cover is leather, a very strong material"

"Wow" there was some letters on it, I read it "The Battle of the Ice Claws"

"Ah, so you can read" Grimble replied, looking at the cover

"Well, Krietra taught me every now and then, about when I was ten days old" I explained

"Don't you want to turn the page?" Grimble asked _Of course I do_

"Ok" I used my first talon to turn the book cover, the second page showed words written down

"As the Ice Narrows and the Ever Winter Sea, amongst blue white birds gleaming brilliantly, lies a frigid land of warriors brave, shedding senseless blood on frozen wave, others choosing a life of contemplation, seek wisdom in the icy desolation, northern contrasts are stunning and sharp, like black razor talons plucking a silver harp" I said aloud the words from the book "By Lyze of Kiel"

"Now look" Grimble turned several pages "Read this" he pointed to one word

I gasped, I re-read the word over about three times, _It can't be! Not him, how could he be there?_

"Calm down Zara" Grimble put his wing around me, comforting me

"...Metalbeak" I said shocked "But how could he?"

"Read the rest tomorrow Zara" He said comfortingly "Let's change the subject"

"Ok" I replied, _What am I doing here anyway? _Once I had finally calm down I looked up at Grimble "Why have you brought me to your nest Grimble?"

"I'm you new sitter" He replied smiling, I gave him a look _As if I'm gonna believe that!_ He saw and his smiled turned to a sigh "Ok then" then his voice turned more serious "Do you still want to know what Nyra and Metalbeak are doing while they're away?"

"Well... yeah of course" I stood up pulling myself away from Grimble for a moment, I took a final look around the room "But how am I? I can't fly and to get somewhere in this... place you have to fly"

"St Aegolius Zara, you're in St Aegolius" He corrected me

"Yeah that" I moved my wings slightly

"Well that's also what I'm here for" he smirked

"What?" I asked

"Your Branching tonight right?" he asked turning around to his shelf that held books on

"Yeah... Your point?" He turned, he leaped towards me and grabbed my in his talons, I gasped and felt the wind knock out of me, we fly up to a top ledge, he placed me on the ledge, I was lay there for a moment then got up quickly, he landed next to me, I looked over the ledge and the floor was so far down, I jumped backwards towards the wall.

"Don't be scared, this is what you will be doing later" He nudged me forwards slightly, I looked over again, I saw a line of ledges heading down to the floor

"Grimble, w-what am I d-doing up here?" I stammered

"I'm gonna teach you to fly" I turned around, shocked

"R-r-really!" I said excitedly _I'm going to fly!_ I had always dreamt of flying, of how the wind would blow into my face and feathers

"Yes, then you can start your lessons quicker than you normally would" he smiled before I could speak he had jumped off of the ledge and flapped his wings, he then landed on the ledge below, now show me what you can do, stretch out your wings and flap!" he explained, I tried to do what he said.

I stretched out my wings and flapped, I slightly lifted off of the ground but it was a great effort, I put all my strength into flapping my wings, then I leant forward and aimed for the ledge where Grimble was, I forced myself forward, I could feel a warm air blow gently in my face, I flapped even harder but slowed the flapping down, I flew clumsily in a zigzag line and landed infront of Grimble, I was out of breath but amazed

"I flew!" I squealed with excitement "I mean me!"

"Well done Zara" he smiled "Just try to make it less clumsy, try flying without as much strength, try to make it more graceful" he took off again and flew to another lower ledge, I prepared to take off again _Try to make it more graceful? Ok so don't push my wings so hard _I flapped my wings again and leaned forward, I flew less clumsily this time and in more off a straight line once I landed I moved my third talon to the back and landed on the rocky ledge infront of Grimble, he looked stunned

"Well done!" he said to me smiling "You hardly made a sound that time!"

"Thanks Grimble" I smiled back "Now what?"

"Your eager I can tell you that" he chuckled but at that moment we heard a loud high-pitched screech he looked at me then though for a moment then smiled "Zara, this is going to be an ever so quick lesson, Try and fly to that top ledge" He pointed above our heads, it was so high, nearly as high as the roof of the cavern

"What?" I stared at the ledge

"I know I know but, just compensate, flap your wings like you did before but aim upwards, I had no idea how or why but I obeyed and flapped my wings, I put a lot of strength into each flap, ever so slowly I got higher and higher, I flapped so hard my wings were getting heavy, each stroke I felt the air brush through my feathers, I suddenly had a burst of energy, my wings flapped at great speed, I got to the ledge quicker and quicker until I put my talons forwards and grabbed the ledge I felt secure again and moved into the middle of the ledge

"Oh My... Zara you're such a quick learner!" he congratulated me "You can fly basically but not on your own, you're not strong enough yet to handle a solo flight... But I think you can fly back to your hollow" he smiled as he took off and flew up towards me

"...Ok" Grimble took off slowly, giving me enough time to take off and follow, I leaped off of the ledge and flapped again constantly, I followed Grimble, we flew across some ledges and large boulders, Grimble jerked upwards and flew towards the sky, I sharply twisted my body to face Grimble and flapped my wings again, I flew straight up, I felt the wind flying through my feathers, I flew quickly and fast to catch up to Grimble, I was only a few feet behind him now, until we got back to my hollow He landed inside it and I followed, I rested my wings back into my sides Grimble turned around smiling

"Very good for your first time Zara" he complimented

"Thanks Grimble, thanks for everything" I smiled

"No problem Young'un" he returned the smile "No I have to go, see you tomorrow Zara" as he was about to step out of my hollow he turned "But don't say anything to Nyra, and pretend I never taught you today" then he disappeared

_I can't believe it! I flew! But what did Grimble say? Not tell Nyra? Oh well better not then I'll have two sitters hating me _I got back to my spot and rested on the feathers and soft down _I still can't believe it... I FLEW!_


	3. Purity Chapter 3

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 3 ~ Flying Again

I woke with a start, I heard horrible noises like screams and crying, I shook myself awake and walked out of the hollow, I looked to the left and right then stepped out, I peered over the edge of the ledge and saw several owls flying, carry bundles of feathers, I looked at one owl being carried and stared at him, he looked strange, I suddenly heard wings beating behind me, I turned to see Nyra landing behind me

"Zara, what are you doing out of the hollow" she asked

"I'm sorry mother, I saw owls and I wondered what was happening outside" I walked up to her

"Don't worry my child, just tell me next time when you're going out, since you can't fly yet I wouldn't want you falling over the edge" she put her wing over my body _Don't worry mother, I CAN fly_

"Ok Mother" I nuzzled into her warm body "So when I can fly, can I come with you to where you go every night?"

"Of Course" she said "But I'm afraid I can't teach you tonight Zara, I have to have a meeting with some owls"

"But, I thought you was going to teach me!" I said as I stepped back

"I'm sorry Zara" she preened my head feathers then moved over to the edge of the ledge, she stretched out her wings and turned her head around "But I have to go now Zara, go back to sleep" she slipped off of the ledge elegantly and flew off in the same direction the owls carrying owlets went

"Ok Mother" I said, I turned and walked back to my hollow _So I'm alone! Finally, I can try out my flying now! _I stretched out my wings and looked up, I scanned the ceiling and saw a crack _There! _I flapped hard again, trying to feel each beat in my muscles, I flapped my wings two times each heartbeat, then I felt the floor underneath my talons disappear, I saw the ground getting further away from me, then I looked up again at the crack, then tried to fly as fast as I could to the ceiling, I felt the cool air ruffle my feathers, I got closer and closer to the roof of the hollow, _Wait! How do I stop! _ I panicked and I thrust my legs towards the ceiling, my talons took the impact and I gripped to the ceiling, my talons dug into the ceiling, I hung there for a moment that seemed like forever, _Great job Zara!_ I twisted my body around and let go of the ceiling, I let my wings stretch out and I slowly floated to the ground, my legs trembled and I fell on the floor on my stomach, I lay there for a few minutes _I did it! I knew I could fly! Then when mother teaches me tomorrow, I can show her how strong I am! _I got up and cleaned my feathers to make them look presentable, I stepped back and moved some down together in a circle, I then grew tired and fell asleep

I woke to see Nyra cuddled up to me, her feathers were warm, I looked out of the hollow and saw Metalbeak taking off, when the sounds of beating wings had trailed off, Nyra woke, she stood up and fluffed out her feathers then started preening herself

"Goodnight mother!" I piped up "How are you?"

"Good_morning_ Zara, I'm fine thank you, How are you my little one?" she turned to face me _What? It's morning?_

"Good, Mother why are we up this early?" I asked

"Well it is this morning that I will teach you how to fly" she said and with those words my feathers quivered even though I already knew how to fly, flying with my mother would be the best thing ever in my life!

"I can't wait!" I squealed with excitement

"Hush now, don't let the High Tyto act like that, it is very unowlish" she said to me seriously but she was smiling "Now come, I will be teaching you soon but we must train over the Pelletorium" she said as she walked out of the hollow _Pelletorium? Oh was Grimble going to tell me earlier! _I followed and she looked at me "Are you ready?"

"Since I was born!" I said with excitement

"Then we shall go" she flapped her brilliant white wings and within a heartbeat, she had grabbed me within my talons, and we were travelling across the entire St Aegolius, over canyons and more rocky pillars, until Mother hovered over some rock, she dropped me down gently and then landed infront of me, she smiled as I looked dazed and stood up "Enjoy that?"

"That was... Amazing!" I squealed almost, even though I had flown, each time I felt the breeze in my feathers I felt excited every time

"Good" she chuckled "Now follow" she opened and closed her right wing and turned, she started walking into the rocky cavern, I followed quickly and opened my wings slightly and flew for a heartbeat to catch up to her, but she didn't notice, once I was only a tail length away from her, I regulated my pace "We will train over the Pelletorium" she turned her head and saw my confused look "It's where the lower species work for us, and they pick pellets for tiny objects, I will tell you more about this later" she turned her head and carried on walking, we walked until we reached a hole in the floor and a ledge on the other side of it that stretched out to the middle of the hole, I walked over to the edge of the hole and Nyra stood next to me, I looked down and saw thousands and thousands of owls! It seemed so, interesting, I was looking at the owls and there were brown, white, grey and black, all different colours, I saw two loud owls and they were _huge! _One was a red colour and one was white, I looked back up at Nyra "This is the Pelletorium" then she had walked off to the edge of the room near a tunnel that had a hint of a red glow "Now you stay there, while I get the others" she said as she turned her head to the tunnel

"Wait Mother, others?" I asked _I thought it was just me and mother! _She turned her head back at me

"Yes, I will be training you and some other owlets that are also in need of training with the way we live here" I sighed at that moment _Others? I just wanted it to be me and mother... _"You will be my perfect student" she added

"Really?" I asked enthusiastically

"Yes, all of the other students will look up to you and want to be as good as you" she encouraged me "Now I must go and get them" she smiled then walked down the tunnel, I looked over the edge and watched, _These are the lower species? So this means that they aren't as important as my species! It feels good to be me! _I felt my feathers quiver, I heard some talking and turned my head to the Tunnel, I stood up straight as soon as I saw Nyra, Then I saw other owlets behind her walking in a straight line, they walked over to me and all stood in a line across the edge of the ledge, then Nyra flew over to the ledge stuck out in the middle, she stood tall and let the sun shine on her white feathers

"You have been selected specially, to serve the Pure Ones, we are a brilliant family, Tytos are always the higher species, Tytos are always the strong and the strong will rule the weak and you selected few, will be my and the High tyto's royal soldiers" Nyra said, as she spoke I could feel, something like a little glow rise within me, I was stood next to another Tyto, his feathers were normal, he had reddish brown feathers across his neck and back, I'll be honest the first time I saw him I didn't think much of him, other than he'll be looking up to me.


	4. Purity Chapter 4

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 4 ~ Training

"You mustn't feel sorry for them down there, as lower species, they are fortunate to serve a higher cause, as Tyto owls, their natural superiors, you too are part of that plan, one that will soon bring order to all the owl kingdoms, when the Pure Ones will rule, and a new and noble era will dawn" she carried on, I looked at an owlet to my right, then I moved my gaze back onto Mother "Now prove your greatness, and rise" at that moment I knew she wanted us to fly, I was first to spread my wings and flap, since I had flown last light I was up quicker, I was flapping my wings as hard as I could, with each stroke I felt it easier and easier to flap, soon it felt natural "Higher" _I am so high! I must be higher than any other owl now! _ I looked to my right and saw the owl rising higher than me "Higher!" _No! _I flapped my wings so hard that my wings flapped into a blur, _I am not being humiliated infront of mother!_ I was catching up to the owl that had beaten me not moments before, by this time I had risen to the same height as this owl. I looked at him and I saw him staring at Nyra

"Higher!" Nyra called again, I felt a burst of energy run through my wings, I flapped and flapped until I reached the ceiling, the other owl to my left went out of control and flew into me, I felt unbalanced and flipping upside down _Zara! Do what you did in your hollow!_ I stretched out my talons and gripped onto the ceiling, I dug in all four of my talons into the rock, I then stretched out my wings and let go, twisting my body at the same time, I started flapping again until I was balanced again, I looked at Nyra, expecting amazement, but no luck, she just looked at the owl next to me, I looked down and all owls had landed "Well done, you ten are on your way to being soldiers, Zara!" she suddenly looked up at me

"Um... Yes?" I said as I lowered my height slightly

"Land!" she ordered me, I obeyed quickly and swooped down onto the floor, digging in my talons onto the edge of the hole "You did not obey me when I said to land, all of your other class mates did"

"I'm sorry mother" I bowed my head, _Wait, what am I apologising for? _"But mother, if you didn't notice, I was hanging upside down on the ceiling, trying not to break my neck" Nyra looked disapproved, and she launched herself at me, her legs stretched forward, I automatically reared upwards, preparing for her attack, our talons clashed, I held onto her talons as tight as I could, she spun me since I was weaker but I still held on, then I heard a screech coming from the hole, and at that moment Nyra threw me to the floor

"Do not try to fight me Zara!" she scolded me, I heard gasped from the other owls, I grabbed Nyra's leg with my beak and she jumped up with pain, I let go as soon as her grasp loosened, I jumped back and flew to the ledge in the middle of the hole, a creature flew up out of the hole, carrying something blue, it shot past us and flew off out of the cavern

"Mother, I am truly sorry, but I will fight if an attacker is approaching" I stood up tall and spoke to her "even if it's the most powerful owl" I finished

"Mother?" I heard murmurs from the owlets

Mother started at me for a moment, then a smiled crossed her face "Well done Zara, you stood up for yourself and even had the strength to fight me" she flew over to me on the ledge "but do not do that to the High Tyto" she whispered and then spoke in a louder voice "Well done" I was shocked but got what I had wanted, I flew back to my space and landed, I turned to face Nyra, I heard a few whispers aimed at me

"That was amazing" "Wow" "How could you fight like that?"

Nyra addressed all of us again "Now, you shall do some solitary training, go off and train on your own until the sun is setting, then come back to me and I will give you your next task" she ordered, immediately I turned and flew off to the side of the room, _So flying or fighting? I've already had a head start on flying with Grimble so I should try fighting _I flew up to the ceiling and saw several rocks that were stuck out of the wall, I flew back slightly from one, then charged at it, I stretched out my legs and talons and prepared to hit it, I struck it with a mighty force and broke a great deal of the end off

"Yes!" I said to myself, I reared back again and looked for another target, I saw a larger rock dangling from the ceiling, I readied myself then flapped my wings quickly to gain speed, I stretched out my legs and talons again, I struck the rock and smashed the end off again "Yes! That's it!" until the sun had set I had smashed nearly every rock on the side of the wall that I was training on, I had practiced fighting and without realising it, flying too, even strategies that I spin as I flying from the enemy so that they think I'm retreating but actually I'm attacking, I looked at the sun and saw it setting, I turned around in mid flight and flew down to the hole, only a couple of owls were there, so I stood infront of Nyra on the edge, I was stood next to the same owl who out flew me earlier, we waited a few minutes for the others, when everyone was there Nyra preached about what the Pure Ones do, and what they will conquer, at every word I could feel a slight emotion of pride _Hurry up with our task already! _I was readying myself for any instructions that Mother would give us _I'm not being second again_ Mother stopped her speech and screeched, suddenly another creature flew in to our training area and dropped a small cage onto the ledge where mother was, it contained a blue bird "Now, the best of you, the fittest and the most brilliant, I will present to the lord High Tyto" she spoke, then she opened the cage and grabbed the bird with her talon "So let's see how much you've improved, as flyers" she threw the bird "as fighters" my gaze followed the bird and then back onto Mother "Well?" I looked at the owl next to me and smirked, I turned quickly and started running to get a head start, the owl next to me was slightly ahead, I ran into his side and pushed him out of the way, I flapped my wings and took off, the other owl took off and was infront, I followed him into the air, at the same time following the blue bird, I rose a little from a slight air current, I stretched out my forelegs and grabbed the owl and pulled him back, I was to the left him now, I saw the bird fly to the left so I flew upwards pushing him out of the way, I landed on a tall piece of rock, I ran up it trying to get airborne again, until some rocks gave under my talons _I can use this! _I purposely flicked them backwards as I stepped on them to hit the owls behind me, I jumped off of the top of the rock and flew, I spun round as I flew like the same tactic I made earlier, I saw the owl _still_ behind me, I turned my head and body around and saw a red flag _Pull up! _I lifted my body and just missed the flag pole, I heard some clangs and crashes and screeches behind me, but my focus was on the bird, I flapped my wings in a flurry of feathers, i got closes and closes to the bird, I stretched out my legs again to catch it but just missed it _One more inch! _I stretched out my legs again and was about to catch the bird.


	5. Purity Chapter 5

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 5 ~ Failure

I couldn't predict what happened next, I had almost caught the bird, then I felt a great forced push me out of the way, I went spinning off towards the wall _Quick! _I stretched out my legs and prepared for the impact, I grabbed onto the wall and the only pain I felt was in my legs, I turned my head to see the owl who had caught the bird was the same owl who had out flew me earlier _Again? _I was shocked, I felt my wings go yeep and I crashed to the floor, I felt my entire body grow tired, I got up slowly and leaned against the wall, my body only for a second stalled, but for that second I had crashed, which can be disastrous in flying, I looked up and watched the owl land with the bird in his talon, I also saw Nyra land behind him, I shook my head to clear off some dirt, I listened closely to what they were saying

"Well done, you've shown exceptional obedience and discipline" she walked around him until she got to face him "My husband will be most pleased by your progress" he lifted up the bird, and she just waved her talon, he threw it immediately _Mother! What about me? _"Tell me, does your brother have similar potential as a flyer?" she walked off to the edge of the cavern, another owl stood beside her with red markings on his chest and a dark grey helmet

"Who Soren?" he said "No, h-he fell out of the tree when he was still a hatchling" he turned to her "he's lame" Nyra chuckled

"Soldier, you mustn't confuse praise for license, never lie to me, For the Lord High Tyto we need as many strong flyers as we can find" she said as she walked around him until she walked off to my direction, she stopped "Come, let's tell your brother what rewards there are for those who recognise, their true family" he turned around and followed her, I slunk backwards hiding from her and the owl, I turned around and flew off in a temper _Tell Grimble! He should know what I can do to improve my progress! _I flew out of the cavern and followed the way I came to my hollow, I swerved around rocks and stone pillars, until I reached the ledge to my hollow, I tried to remember the way Grimble took me to his chamber, I swooped downwards and recalled the way he carried me, I dodged other owls with masks, some were carrying buckets, some buckets had a blue glow to them, come had red burning rocks in them, I flew across until I heard Grimbles voice

"You're not my queen!" I then heard shrieks come from a large crack in the rock close to me, I flew over to it and heard a terrible noise, I stopped me for a moment then I saw two owlets fall out of the crack, I swooped down to try and catch them so they wouldn't kill themselves, I stuck close to the wall of the rock pillar, the shadows hid me since my feathers are black, I dodge around the rocks that jutted out around the wall, I saw them get closer and closer to the ground, until the barn owl skidded underneath the other and smaller owl and flew off, I slowed, I heard screeches and I looked up, Grimble and mother were fighting! I felt the air in my throat catch at the sight, two more guards flew over to fight Grimble

"Follow the owlets!" I heard mother shout, I saw Grimbles head turn to the owlets who were close to flying out of the canyon

"Go! Go tell the Guardians!" he called after them and with that they disappeared, I looked back at Grimble and he went limp and Mother threw him, she lifted up and started to chase the owlets with the two guards

"Grimble!" I shouted, I flew over as fast as I could to catch him, he wasn't moving _He can't be dead! _I flapped as hard as I could, I got closer to him as he got closer to the ground, I felt a burst of energy surged through me as I suddenly flew faster, I stretched out my legs and talons to catch him, the moment I felt feathers under my talons I swerved my body and swooped upwards, getting as high as I could, _His hollow! _I flapped as much as I could, Grimble was a heavy owl and I was only slightly older than an owlet, I flapped and saw the ledge which those owlets earlier had fell from, I caught sight of two guards and an owlet in Grimbles hollow, so I ducked down and glided down to a much lower ledge underneath Grimbles hollow, just out of earshot, I placed Grimble on his back on the ledge, I landed next to him

"Grimble! Can you hear me?" I called to him, shaking his body with my talon, he stirred and opened his eyes slightly

"Zara? Is that you?" He lifted his head and turned it to my direction

"Yes Grimble" I replied, he suddenly shook for a second in pain "Grimble! You're going to be ok! Please just wait!"

"I only want this to stop, the Pure Ones are evil Zara, I'm sorry... but so is Nyra" he said to me, I saw fear in his eyes, I ignored his last comment

"You're not going to die Grimble!" I said to him changing the subject to something more important "Are you bleeding?"

"Yes... here" he showed his wings and his chest, they were bleeding, "I'm just too tired and old to carry this on, thank goodness you caught me Zara, I am truly grateful" He said "But these wounds will heal"

"So you're just tired?" I asked "You're not going to die!" I cooed happily

"Not now, but if I take one step out of this shadow then the Pure Ones will finish me" he said

"I don't know what I can do Grimble" I was cut off I turned to see Nyra fly back to Grimbles hollow, empty handed, I turned back to Grimble and saw a small cave that this ledge was part of _He can hide there!_

"Grimble get up quickly! hid in there and I'll come back later!" I ordered him, he was about to protest but I shoved him upwards and pushed him back to the cave, it was dark but that was good since it would hide Grimble "I'll be back in a moment" I turned and ran off of the ledge and swooped down then upwards to Nyra, swooping down made it looked like I came from another direction

"Zara?" she flew up to me "What are you doing here?" _Quick Zara! Hide Grimble!_

"Mother, I just saw a dead owl! It's body was torn to pieces by the time it hit all of the pointy rocks! The body then... just... erf!" I shook my body to add effect

"Oh my Zara, are you ok?" she asked

"Well, sort of, I _was_ pushed into a wall earlier in training, but I'm fine now" she didn't seem to listen, she kept on glancing upwards to the hollow

"Zara, are you positive that owl is dead?" she asked me once again

"Mother!" I said to her desperately "Why would I lie?" That seemed to satisfy her

"Good, you must always be honest to the High Tyto and I" she smiled at me "Come, I must tell Kludd of the grave news of Grimbles death" she flew off to the Hollow

"Kludd?" she looked at me "Who's Grimble?" I followed her up to Grimbles Hollow, she landed on the edge of the ledge, she faced me to make sure I was still behind her, I stood on the ledge below, even though it was nearly night the sun shone on her brilliant white feathers

"Zara, go to the hollow now" she said to me

"But mother!" I protested

"Just go" she ordered me, I reluctantly nodded and flew down wards, I slowed down until Nyra had turned around, I quickly turned into Grimbles new hollow.


	6. Purity Chapter 6

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 6 ~ Hollows

I landed on the ledge and walked into the cave, I saw Grimble shrink back to the corner of the room

"Grimble, it's me Zara" I said to him, He saw me and stood up

"Zara, you're going to get yourself killed!" he said to me "it's my entire fault, I should never had taken you to my hollow"

"Grimble it's not your fault!" I tried to reassure him

"I should have died then" he winced at his wounds

"No you shouldn't!" I protested

"You should've just let me crash to the ground" he turned his body around to face the wall "Oh I wish I could see Bess and Jewels again" he sighed

"Bess and Jewels?" I asked

"My mate and daughter, Bess is the sweetest boreal owlet I have ever met, I had such a good home before the Pure Ones came... My feathers weren't always stained with these colours..." he sighed again and turned his head to face me "When the Pure Ones invaded my home I fought back, they thought they could use my strength, so" he paused, then turned his entire body around "So they took my family, they promised no harm would come to them if I followed orders... and I've been doing their work ever since" he finished "heh, never thought I'd have to tell my life story twice in one day"

"Twice?" I asked

"Yeah, those owlets that flew before you caught me were Soren and Gylfie, they are going to find the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and stop this terrible menace"

"Grimble, what are the Pure Ones trying to do?" I asked

"...They're trying to take over the entire owl kingdoms" he said after a moment of silence

"That's not that bad is it?" I said, he looked surprised for a second "Well, if everywhere is owned by one leader then there wouldn't be any wars would there?" I suggested

"There not good owls Zara, they moonblink owlets and turn them into slaves" he protested, I heard a screech and looked out of the cave, Nyra had flown off with the owlet earlier _Grimbles got to get out of here, if not he's going to get killed, and I can't let Mother kill him!_

"Grimble, I want to get you out of here" I said to him, he stopped and was speechless

"How?" he asked slightly discouraged "And why?"

"You're going to get killed if you stay here, I don't want you to die" I explained my reasons "If you could leave the same way those two owlets earlier did, then you could get out" I said

"Well let's try it then!" he stretched his wings and then winced "M-my wings are broken..." he sighed "I'm just going to die Zara, an owl that can't fly can't live" he shrunk back into the wall

"Grimble..." he sighed _Wait! Broken wings heal! _"Grimble! I can look after you!" he turned

"What?"

"If you live here, I can bring you food every day until your wings heal, then you can escape and find your Bess and Jewels!" I explained to him he turned to face me and his face was a mix of surprise and happiness

"Are you sure you would do that Zara?"

"Of course!" I said "So do you like that idea?"

"Well... yes, I do, and it should work" he smiled "Thank you Zara, I don't need anything now, but _you_ need to get back to your hollow" I shot up

"Ok Grimble, I'll see you tomorrow, about this time" he nodded then I turned and leaped off of the edge of the ledge of the cave and flew back to my hollow

I got back to my hollow, Nyra wasn't back yet thank goodness, but she was just coming back, I stood in the hollow and watched her fly in

"Hello Mother" I greeted her

"Hello Zara, you did well today, I've never known an owlet fly like you did on your first day of training" she started to preen me

"Thank you, so who was Kludd, you said earlier you had to tell him of Grimbles death?" I asked her

"He was an owlet that you had trained with earlier today, he is promising aswell as you and you both shall be high ranked soldiers soon" she said _Now that's something I'd like_

"Really?" I asked

"Of course, you two did well in training today, I am sure the High Tyto will be pleased with your progress" she stood up "Now let's see what else we can do to help you train"

"Maybe tactics? I thought of one today while training" I said to her _C'mon Zara, now's your time to shine!_

"Ok, let's see it" she prepared for an attack, I readied myself and as soon as launched herself at me, I swerved to the left, she turned and stretched out her claw, I jumped up and started flapping my wings, I flew upwards towards the ceiling, I could hear her behind me, I got closer and closer to the ceiling, until I got to about two inches from the ceiling I turned quickly and caught Nyra by surprise, I stretched out my talons and grabbed her shoulders, I pushed downwards and we dropped to the floor, I slowed when we got to my nest but the crashed was still loud, I jumped back and Mother lay there for a heartbeat, then got up, she shook of the twigs of the nest and stared at me

"W-well done!" she said to me with a smile, I could feel a small amount of pride swell within me "You have executed that move excellently" she walked over to me and preened my feathers "My Husband will be pleased"

"He is" we turned to see Metalbeak standing outside the hollow

"My Lord" she turned and stood up straight, I copied

"That was very good, soldier" he walked up to me, I bowed my head

"Thank you" I replied

"You must not show weakness Zara, do you know why?" he asked

"We are Tytos so we are Pure" I lifted my head to face his, he smiled

"Correct" he replied "Nyra, I must go to make preparations" he turned and flew off into the great canyon

"You, Kludd, and your classmates shall be brought to the High Tyto later, you should make yourself more presentable, its a big night for you" she said "I'll be getting the others, meet me at the training hollow" she stepped out of the hollow and flew off to the other owls hollows

I turned my head around and started cleaning my feathers, making them as pretty as I could, they were a beautiful black and brown once I had finished _When will I be made into a soldier? And why do we have to go to Metalbeak tonight? It might be another training exercise! Then i can prove myself to Metalbeak too! _I stopped preening myself quickly _But what was Metalbeak's name doing in the Battle of the Ice Claws book? Oh well I'll find out later, maybe it was another Metalbeak, like his father's father was called Metalbeak._


	7. Purity Chapter 7

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 7 ~ Introductions

I jumped out of the hollow, and flew off to the training hollow, I dodged owls flying from different directions _Tytos are Pure, we are the higher species after all, and why should other breeds of owls think that they can control us? It's not as if we are any weaker than them, We are always stronger than any other breed _I could feel myself growing a slight Pure One strength within me, And without me noticing, I had got to the training hollow, I landed on the ledge and folded my wings back into place, I walked over to the hole where I was training earlier, and I waited for Mother to return, I stood at attention for about ten minutes until I got bored, I looked down and saw thousands of owls marching and carrying little buckets, I saw owls picking at Pellets, I hear wing beats behind me, I turned to see Mother landing behind me and the rest of my training group behind her, I saw two guards next to mother and two larger owls behind the group, one was red with white markings and the other was white with red markings

"Now we are ready to go" I walked over to the group and we walked to the edge of the cavern, I spread out my wings and flapped, every owl in my class had risen by now, "Follow me" Mother said as she turned to fly off, an owl had gone infront but I didn't care this time, I followed him and the rest followed me, a tyto had caught up to me, he was grey with a white face

"Hello" I said

"Hello" he replied "Aren't you Nyra's daughter" he asked

"Yes I am" I replied "Might I ask who you are?"

"I'm Jace" he replied

"I'm Zara" I replied "Nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too" he smiled, we both continued flying until we swerved to the right, Mother looked behind us, I turned my head to face the direction Mother was looking, I saw a big blue blur of light that swirled in the wind, I turned back at mother and she flew off, I followed behind another owlet, we flew to a large pillar, we flew through the opening and Mother jerked upwards so I copied and flew straight upwards, I flapped once or twice to stay airborne, I saw a large perch that was made out of metal, I was curved around the edges it looked so... pure

I landed next to the owlet infront, and Jace stood next to me, and my class stood in a line looking up at the owl on the perch, Mother landed on infront of us, the two guards stood each end of the line of owls, and the red and white duo stood behind us, and a young owlet stood in between these two, we looked at Nyra and she bowed her head, we copied and I bowed my head down, I heard Mother fly up to the owl on the perch, she landed on the ledge below

"My Lord" Mother said

"Hmm?" he replied _Metalbeak! So this is his chamber_

"Our work at St. Aegolius is very nearly done, the rest of the flecks are on their way" she said _Flecks? _"And I've brought you an offering with beating hearts, your new soldiers" _What? W-we're soldiers? Finally! _"Tested and Pure, One in particular shows exceptional promise" she said "_Who's that? Me? It should be_

"I'll be the judge of that, you soldier" Metalbeak said, I felt the owl next to me tense up "Step forward" and that owl stood forward "Yes, you're alright to be afraid in my presence" _Be afraid, I've lived with you for that last 30 days! _"What is your name?"

"Kludd" the owl spoke quietly _That's Kludd?_

"Speak up" Metalbeak ordered

"Kludd! My name is Kludd" the owl stood up straighter now

"There, that's better, Remember, Weakness is for the lower species, never for us, do you know why, Kludd?" he asked

"Because, we, are, Tytos" Kludd said, and Metalbeak chuckled

"Good, now step back into line" Metalbeak sounded satisfied, Kludd stepped backwards and bowed his head again "Now you, soldier, state your name" he aimed at me, I stepped forward, I spoke calmly and loud

"My name is Zara" I stated

"Yes" he said "And you wish to join the rank of soldiers am I correct?" he asked

"Yes, I do" I replied, I felt Jace tense up a bit

"Good" he said "Now step back into line" I obeyed and stood back

"Now you" he pointed to Jace "Step forward" Jace obeyed automatically and took a few steps forward "What's your name?"

"Jace" he replied, he stood up straight

"Good, now, what do you think about these flecks?" he asked

"To be honest, I don't know what they are" Jace replied

"Then I shall tell you, step back into line" Jace obeyed and whispered to me quickly

"Phew" I chuckled quietly

"There are little metal flecks in owls pellets, they are what their prey has eaten, but alone they are not powerful, but in a huge amount, they are dangerous, and this is how we are going to defeat the Guardians, then once they're out of the way, there is nothing to stop the Pure Ones from controlling the Owl Kingdoms" he explained to us, I stared at him with wonder _Did he plan all of that? Wow! _

"The Guardians?" I said

"Long ago I was attacked by a cowardly Guardian, now I wear this mask to consume my scars, but it is sign of Pure One strength, the Guardians are the only threat that stand in our way to becoming ruler of all the Owl Kingdoms" he said to me

"Oh" I said

"Now you three, what are your names?" he went back to his original speech, three tytos at the end of the line took two steps forward, they stated their names one by one

"Nyx" he was white and grey like Jace

"Kelwyn" he was Brown and white

"Serafina" the last one spoke, she was a darker brown and white

"Good, now you two" the three stepped back and the remaining two, one next to Kludd and Serafina, and the last one on the end next to Jace "What are your names?"

"Luana" she said, she was inbetween Serafina and Kludd, she was brown and dark grey

"Zaine" he spoke last, he was the one next to Jace, and he was brown and white

"Now that I know all of your names, let's proceed" He jumped down off of the perch "You eight will have a small fights to prepare you for the great occasion, now you Zara" he pointed to me with his talon

"Yes?" I stepped forward

"And you" he pointed to Kelwyn

"Yes?" he took a few steps forward

"You two shall have a fight here" the two guards stepped to the far side of the chamber, I walked to where one guard was standing, and Kelwyn walked to the other side "You shall fight until one draws blood" he stepped back "begin!"


	8. Purity Chapter 8

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 8 ~ Fighting practice

I waited for Kelwyn to move first, he charged at me, I braced myself, then he rammed his body into me, I quickly dragged my claws up to Kelwyn's wings and pushed into him, he landed on his back and I was holding down his wings, he struggled but I was doing my best to stay in my position, I then dug my talon into his side to make a cut, I felt a small warm trickle across my talons

"Stop!" Metalbeak announced

"Sorry Kelwyn" I whispered to him as I got off of him

"It's alright" he replied, I stretched out a talon, he accepted and took my talon and I helped him stand up

"Well done, both of you" Metalbeak said as he walked up to us

"Thank you" Me and Kelwyn bowed our heads, we then walked back into our space of our line

"Now you, Kludd and Jace" both owls next to me stepped forward "Now it's your turn" Kludd stood to the right and Jace stood to the left "As before, you shall finish when one draws blood" then nodded "begin!"

Their battle was vicious, I watched Kludd charge at Jace almost the second Metalbeak shouted 'begin' Jace was shoved backwards, he had to catch his breath for a moment but when he got his balance, he ran, then jumped up and forced his way to push Kludd back, he stretched out his talons and aimed for Kludd's head, Kludd ducked and grabbed Jace by his neck, he threw him to the floor, and as he skidded, a small puddle of blood lay next to his neck, Jace lay limp on the floor "Stop!" Metalbeak said, Kludd turned and bowed his head, not even glancing back at Jace, I jumped out of line and hopped over to Jace's limp body

"Jace? Jace?" I shook him desperately, I bent down and looked at his chest, he was breathing, I let my eyes slide up and saw a small cut where Kludd's two talons were on his neck, I could hear whispers from the owl line

"What's she doing?" I nudged him again and he stirred and opened his eyes, he lifted his head

"Zara?" he asked

"Yes Jace, get up quickly, you'll be fine" I said quickly, I nudged him upwards and he leaned against me, I walked over to the line

"Well done, both of you, but you should focus more on your opponents moves more than your own Jace" he said _I knew he wouldn't say anything to me, he wouldn't DARE!_

"Thank you" they both bowed their head and Kludd walked back to his place in line, I helped Jace hop over to his place

"Thank you Zara" he whispered quietly

"No problem" I replied _Mother can tend to Jace's wounds, I need to figure out a way to get Grimble out of here!_

"Now, Serafina and Zaine" he pointed and they both stepped forward, they took their places and waited until Metalbeak gave the order, then they charged at each other, each crashing into each other, I wasn't interested in this fight, I was thinking how long Grimble would take to be able to fly, and keep Jace standing

"So you're Zara?" I heard Kludd talk to me

"Yeah" I said, I saw Jace look at us

"It'll be interesting fighting you" he said

"Um... thanks?" I replied, _Was that a compliment?_

We watched Zaine pin Serafina to the floor, a little scratch ran down her wing, from shoulder to tip, Metalbeak ordered them to stop, they obeyed and once Zaine got off of Serafina, and she got up, they bowed their heads and waited for Metalbeak's judgement

"Very good, you two are promising too" He turned his head and saw the two walked back into place "Luana and Nyx" the two stepped forward and repeated the sequence, once Nyx had won they bowed then stepped back into place "Now that I have seen your fighting level, I will match you to someone appropriate for your skill, Jace and Serafina" Jace had recovered from his injury and took a few steps forward into his space, he faced Serafina "You shall stop until one draws blood like before, but not from their previous injury" then nodded "begin"

Jace flapped then dusty floor and caused a small cloud of dust, it covered him for a minute, then while Serafina couldn't see, he flew through the clouds at full force and pushed Serafina clear out of his way, he flew upwards incase she attacked, she was so shocked that she was threw backwards and fell off of the edge

"Jutt" Nyra said, and the big white owl swooped off of the ledge downwards, and returned a few moments later with Serafina in his talons, he lay her on the ground, she stood up and shook herself, her feathers puffed up, she was in a mood now

"Carry on" Metalbeak said, Serafina charged first this time, she flew up to him quickly and aimed at his head, but he didn't take it, instead he bent down to duck it and then heat butted her in the stomach, she fell to the floor, he saw his chance and landed on her, he scratched her other wing and blood trickled from it "Stop" they stopped, He got off of Serafina quickly and offered his talon, he snorted and got up on her own "Well done, Jace you have improved a lot, and you too Serafina" they bowed their heads and walked back to his space

"Well done" I whispered

"Thanks, good luck in yours" he smiled

"Thanks" I suddenly thought _What if I'm paired with Kludd? Oh well, third times lucky and I am NOT going to be out beaten AGAIN by him!_

"Nyx and Zaine" they stepped forward and prepared for battle, it was quite a long battle, they clawed at each other but both dodged as quickly as each other so it was like a back and forth fight, I wasn't really watching, I was too busy thinking up tactics _So if I try that tactic I thought of earlier, and maybe and swerve to the right just before I attack so I come from the side, then they wouldn't see it coming!_ Before I knew it, Nyx had won, they walked over to the line and bowed again "Good, you have both improved" they stepped back into place "Kelwyn and Luana" they repeated the sequence and as I barely watched and thought of tactics, they both were fighting viciously, Luana charged and bit down on his wing, then Kelwyn bit down on her neck, she screeched and let go, he let go but blood trickled from her neck, Kelwyn had won, they stood back in line and Metalbeak congratulated them then called for the next and final couple _Wait! If Nyx, Kelwyn, Serafina, Luana, Jace and Zaine have gone, then- _"Kludd and Zara" Metalbeak announced _Brilliant!_


	9. Purity Chapter 9

**Heyy! Just to let you guys know this chapter is a serious one, but I thought I'd play around with different perspectives and see if that works, anyway if it doesn't, please tell me :3**

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 9 ~ vs Kludd

I stepped out, slightly nervously Jace whispered me "Good luck" as I took a step forward, Kludd was already over to his position, on the right side of the chamber, I swiftly moved over to the left, and we both waited for Metalbeak's order _I really need to take him down, I'm not going to let him beat me again!_

"Begin" he said

"Ready?" Kludd asked with a bit of confidence

"Of course" I replied coolly, I then flapped and flew up, hovering over the battle area, Kludd charged and flew up to me, I braced myself, I stretched out my talons and his locked with mine, we spun round for a moment, he let go but I gripped firmly on, he screeched at me for a moment, and I screeched back louder, I let go and he was thrown backwards, he was unbalanced, but he recovered quickly, I saw my chance and flew at full force at him, I outstretched my talons, Kludd turned and grabbed my talons, I spun him and let go, he held on tight and spun me, he let go and I crashed to the ground, he came down onto me, but I rolled out of the way and jumped, landing on my feet we walked slowly in a circle, waiting for each other's next move

"Not bad" he smiled

"Not bad yourself" I replied, at that moment I lunged forward, he lunged too, our talons met once more, _Tactic Number 1! _I quickly let go, he was surprised for a moment, I spun in mid air and flew upwards, aiming for the ceiling, he followed _This might work! Just a little more!_ I flew further and further to the sky, and Kludd wouldn't let me get away, I flew until I got to about three inches from the ceiling and spun.

I followed Zara as she took flight, I stretched my wings and jumped I flew upwards following her direction, I couldn't understand why she was flying to the ceiling, but I followed her either way, so I could trap her when she got to the top _What is she doing?_ ! followed and outstretched my talons, ready to attack, then she really surprised me, she was only about two inches away from the ceiling _No!_

_Zara!_ I watched helplessly in line as Zara and Kludd clashed talons, they spun and Zara lay on the floor, for a moment I thought Zara had lost until she rolled out of the way, she took to the sky and Kludd followed, _Think Jace, what could she be doing? _She flew to the ceiling fast, I had only met her two hours ago, and she had already poked my curiosity, I tensed up slightly as she flew coloser and closer to the ceiling

"Good flyer" I heard Luana saw to Serafina

"Yeah, and a good fighter" Kelwyn joined the conversation

"So's Zara" I said

"Yeah, they're evenly matched" Nyx agreed

I looked up and saw Zara about 2 or 3 inches from the ceiling, she turned around

I spun round and stretched out my talons, Kludd was still flying towards me which made this a lot easier, I grabbed his shoulders within my talons, I saw Kludd's expression change to a mix of fear and surprise, I put all my force into pushing him back, his talons swung out helplessly, we came crashing down to the ground, I put my force onto him more, we picked up speed quickly, I eased up when we got to the ground, so I wouldn't break any bones, we landed with thud and in a cloud of dust, Kludd lay there for a moment, panting _Yes, now for the blood _then all of a sudden, he got his talons underneath my stomach and threw me off of him, I spun to land on my feet, he got up

"I... Wasn't expecting that" he said through gulps of air "Good job"

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself" I replied, once he got his breath back he charged at me, I charged as well aiming for a head on collision _Tactic Number 3!_ Just as we was about to collide, I stretched my wings and jumped over Kludd, again he was surprised but was quicker to respond this time, he turned around only after a few steps then once I landed he crashed into me, I was unbalanced but still standing, he stepped back quickly, _Number 2! _I charged towards him and he braced himself, but I swerved to his left just before I collided with him, then I outstretched my talons and crashed into him, I gripped to his side this time, not letting go, he tried to shake me off by shaking his wings and body but no success, I had gripped my talons into his feathers and my beak into his back, I couldn't get deep enough to cut him, then I felt Kludd move and I felt the rocky wall crash against my back, I screeched in pain and my grip loosened, Kludd jumped away and turned, ready for my next move

The wind was knocked out of me, I panted trying to get to terms, once my breath had come back, I ran up to him and pushed past him, it made him unbalanced for a moment then I turned quickly and caught him in my wing, I spun and threw him, he landed on his back, he panted for a few moments, I stood up straight and prepared for his attack, he got up swiftly, then took to the air, I copied and hovered, Kludd moved first and stretched his talons wide, I did the same, our talons clashed again, Kludd spun me around then threw me back into the great drop where we entered Metalbeak's chamber, I spun and caught my balance again, I looked down and saw how far I was from the ground, it seemed like I was onto of the pillar not halfway up, I looked back at Kludd and he charged himself at me, _Dodge it!_ I rolled in the air, something I didn't know was possible, and moved out of his way, he went crashing in the wall I charged up to him as he was still recovering, I grabbed his back and flung him back to the ledge where we began, I was quickly flying back over there, he landed on his back, but he rolled to stand on his feet, I charged at him and caught his head with my talons, his talons stretched out, he landed on the floor, I stood above him, at that moment I felt a warm liquid under my talons, and on my stomach

"Stop!"


	10. Purity Chapter 10

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 10 ~ A break, finally!

I looked down, I had cut Kludd on his forehead, and he had scratched me on my side when I landed on him, I stepped off of him and outstretched my talons

"Sorry, I got caught up in the fight" I said smiling, he accepted my talon and I helped him up

"Don't worry about it, atleast now I have a challenge" he smiled then we turned to Metalbeak and bowed our heads

"Very well done, both of you" you were both evenly matched and at a high level, I am pleased by your progress" he smiled, we then walked back over to our space in line

"That, was, amazing!" Jace whispered to me smiling

"Thanks, but very tiring" I replied, Metalbeak stood in front of the line, Mother stood next to him and the two guards stood each side of the par

"You eight have shown great effort and strength, I'm positive that you shall all improve until you get to the point of Kludd's and Zara's skill" Metalbeak said _Yes! What mother said to me, I will be the star pupil! _"I had not expected this amount of skill and strength from all of you when I first saw you, but I am Positive that you all shall be great soldiers, maybe even royals" he said "Now that our first training session is complete, you can feed" he turned and jumped up and flew to his perch, the training session had finished, Nyra took a few steps forward

"You can fly back to your hollows and rest, or spend this time training with other classmates, when the moon has risen to half way in the sky, I will come and get you, then I will show you where to catch your food" she walked to Metalbeak, I was the first to turn around, I outstretched my wings and flew off of the ledge, downwards out of the Pillar _I guess I could sleep... or should I take a tour around here?_ Jace caught up to me

"Hi Zara" he greeted me

"Hi Jace, what are you doing now?" I asked

"I dunno, what are you doing?" he asked

"I think I'm going to take a tour around here" I replied

"Mind if I come?" he asked

"Sure" I smiled, we flew across the canyons, I saw every owl stained several colours, black, red and white, some resembling Mother, some Metalbeak, once I saw an owl like Metalbeak my thoughts started to drift _Do I consider him a father?_ I shook the question away from the marvellous sight that was the last slip of the sun gliding down into the earth, I landed on a brach that jutted out of the wall, Jace landed on the ledge below me

"It''s beautiful" Jace said

"Yeah, so where did you come from Jace?" I asked

"Forest Kingdom of Ambala, you?" he replied

"Here"

"So you wasn't snatched?"

"Snatched?" I repeated the word

"I was taken from my hollow, my sister died trying to stop a guard from taking me, but I'm partly glad they did, the high tyto really appreciates us" he sounded thoughtful

"Yeah, well atleast you don't have to stay in the same hollow as him" I joked

"Right" he sounded as if I was joking "Really?" his voice sounded of wonder

"Yeah, its always silent, I got the feeling he thought I wasn't any use to him, but Mother's the complete opposite"

"So your Metalbeak's and Nyra's daughter?"

"Adopted, she told me when I was ten days old" I recalled the day Mother told me, she was preening me and I said "Who are you then if you're not my mother?" she smiled "I am your mother, but not by genes, what difference does it make from which family you're from, here we're a huge family, and no other owl can make me stop loving you just because we're not related" she said, I could only just grasp that sentence but I felt Motherly love coming from Mother when she said that, I decided that it was no big deal, Mother may not be my biological mother, but she was mother to me

"Oh" Jace replied

"So what was your sister like Jace?" I said changing the subject

"Oh fine I guess, always picking on me, tried to push me out of the tree once, you see I'm the youngest of my brood, I had a brother aswell, he was nice to me, always told me stories of the Guardians, but my sister kept him away from me, she was very protective of him, and when the Pure Ones came, I was asleep, my mother and father were out hunting and, well, they tried to grab me and Clide- My brother, but Juniper-my sister, stepped infront of us, maybe she was just trying to save Clide, but I'd like to think that she tried to save me too, then another Guard pushed her out of the way, she bit down on his talon and then..." he paused "He snapped her neck"

"I'm sorry for your loss, did Clide get taken too?" I asked and he nodded "But he tried to escape, full of rage and grief, He bit of the guards talons, the guard let go and he-" he paused again "He crashed to the ground, now both of my siblings are dead" I could hear his voice shake, I swooped down to the ledge and covered his side with my wings

"It's alright Jace, its over now" I comforted him, he stared to weep

We sat there for about half an hour, we looked at the moon rising up into the sky

"If it makes you feel any better" I said, he turned to me "My entire families dead, if I was part of a brood, they must be dead, still, we're family now, so we've got each other" he nuzzled into my side

"I wish my sister was like you Zara" he said as he slept until we were called by Nyra

Until Mother came I stared at the moon, it looked brilliantly white, nothing could compare to it, not even Mothers feathers, I could feel Jace's warm side pressed against mine, I could feel a slight feeling of love aimed towards Jace, but I couldn't be distracted with love and feelings until I became a soldier, then I can worry about my life

"Ah so this is where you both are" I took my wing away from Jace and we both turned, and bowed our heads "We're going hunting" she smiled, she turned and swooped off the ledge, we followed


	11. Purity Chapter 11

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 11 ~ Plans and Preparations

Once we got to the edge of the canyons, I landed in line with the other owls, we bowed our heads and waited for Nyra to speak

"This is St Aegolius" she said "now we are on the edge, down there is a forest that spreads into the heart of St Aegolius, tonight I will show you how to hunt and, in two days time, your job will to be to set fire to the forest, to entice the Guardians and lead them into our trap, My husband will explain further to you tomorrow night, now here is normally mice, voles and squirrels, you will have time until the moon had risen to the top of the tallest tree to catch as much as you can, and if you can't catch any, I will show you how" she announce, I looked at Jace, then at Kludd, he smirked and so did I "begin"

I charged off of the ledge, I swooped and flew deep into the forest, I landed on a tree limb and listened for the tiniest of movements, then I heard something, I turned my head to the source, I saw a mouse scratching against a tree limb, I jumped off of the tree branch and flew as silently as I could, I stretched out my talons and caught the mouse swiftly in my claws, I think that the impact had killed it, because it wasn't moving within my talons, I landed on another tree branch and held it in my talon, I bit down into its neck to make sure it was really dead, then I returned to Mother, I landed on the ledge and put down the mouse, I bowed at Nyra then flew back into the forest, I listened out for any other movement, then I heard scratching at the tree to the left of me, I saw something like a mouse but with a bushier tail _Squirrel! _I launched myself at it and caught its head in my talons, I snapped its neck then grabbed it by the tail, and I flew back to Nyra then repeated the cycle.

By the time the moon had risen to the top of the tallest tree had finished I had caught 11 pieces of prey, 6 mice, 2 squirrels, a vole, and 2 rabbits, Mother looked pleased, I turned to Jace, he smiled at his prey, he had caught a total of 7 pieces of prey, mainly mice but he had also caught a rabbit, and I could tell he couldn't wait to eat it, I turned my head again to look at Mother, she stood straight and looked pleased

"Well done, now that you have caught your meals, you can pick three that you can carry back to your hollow and eat, Metalbeak is holding a meeting later tonight, but you need your armour fittings, so eat up, and I'll fetch you when the time has come" she turned and flew off, I selected three pieces of prey, a rabbit, a squirrel and a mouse, I took the rabbit in my talons, the squirrel's tail in my beak and the mouse caught under one of my talons, I took off with a bit of difficulty due to the weight, but I was still airborne, I flew back to my hollow, awaiting Mother to return, I dropped the rabbit on the floor and opened my mouth to release the squirrel, I then plucked the mouse off of my talon with my beak, then started to tuck into the fine prey.

I felt full after the squirrel and mouse, I shuffled the rabbit into a corner for me to eat later, I started preening my feathers, making them a rich, black colour, once I had finished I waited for Mother to return, during the time I stared at the moon, it was beautiful, it also started to make me think _What is Metalbeak's plan? And what have we got to do with it? Should I see Grimble tonight? _I saw Mother landed infront of me, knocking me out of my thoughts

"Hello Mother" I greeted her, bowing my head

"Hello Zara, you don't need to bow your head at me all of the time, just when the High Tyto is around" she walked to me took me under her wing "You are going to be fitted for your battle attire now so I suggest we hurry" we walked to the hollow entrance and took off

I followed Nyra to the mining forge, deep within the Pure Ones forces, it was quite an intense heat, I felt my feathers bake under the temperature, Mother and I landed in a tall pillar inside of the cavern

"This is the forge" Nyra said to me, I looked up at her "Your classmates will be fitted later, but I wanted you to be first" she said to me

"Thank you Mother" I thanked her enthusiastically _I'm back in Mother's good books! _She walked forward to another owl, he was standing on top of a metal square, his feathers were covered in soot, he was wearing a metal mask that covered his eyes, but they had slits in so he could see, he had a hammer, he was big and a reddish brown colour, I walked up to Mother, she was standing next to this owl

"Ah, Magnus, how is her attire coming along?" Mother asked the red owl, he turned and lifted his mask from his face

"I've done the pattern My Queen, but I just need the measurements" He looked down at me "Mind if I?" he said to me

"Sure" I stepped forward and I let him touch parts of my face with his talons, he was measuring in talons, then he checked my talons, and once he had finished, he turned back to his work place "It should only take a short while, it'll be done soon" he flapped his wing for us to leave, Mother nodded and walked to the side of the wall, I followed and on the wall I saw hundreds of battle attire, Claws and Helmets, some were a silvery black, others red, some even a light grey, Mother stood next to me

"The different designs on these Battle Claws show different rankings of our soldiers" she explained, I was there for about half an hour, Nyra was amused at how I was so interested in the armour, I walked up and down the line, looking up to see how far the armour went on, it looked like every owl in St Aegolius had a set of Claws and Helmet, soldier _and_ servant, I looked at a specific white one, with red marked across the edges and on the front, Nyra stepped over to my side "This is my head set, but I don't use it much anymore" she walked off back to Magnus, I turned my head back at the Battle Claws, the colours matched Nyra's feathers perfectly _I wish I could've seen Mother wear these in battle!_


	12. Purity Chapter 12

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 12 ~ My Battle Attire

After an hour of waiting I walked up to Mother and Magnus, they had been talking while Magnus was forging, when I joined the two Magnus turned to me

"Ok, little soldier, prepare, to be... amazed" he turned around with a pair of magnificent Battle Claws, the helmet was a heart like shape, with three pointed edges, two at the side and one in the middle, it was a brilliant black colour, with crimson red markings intertwining with the black markings, a sharp silver beak at the point where the beak would be, it was longer and sharper than any beak you would ever saw, in battle it would easily wound an opponent, I looked at it in awe, Magnus chuckled, he put it down gently infront of me, it clanged on the floor, he turned again and hopped back, he was carrying the claws, the talons were a crimson red, and the lace around it and the leather was black, matching the helmet "Like it?"

"Of course!" I said in amazement "Who do these battle claws belong to?"

He chuckled "Yours" I felt a wave of excitement sweep over me _M-Mine? Oh I love them!_

"R-Really? These are mine?" I bent down to the armour, Magnus and Mother chuckled

"Oh, I remember when I got my Battle Claws, I was exactly the same" Mother said looking towards the sky, a twinkle of happy memories glinted in her eyes

"I remember too, I made them for you" Magnus chuckled, nudging Nyra out of her thoughts, she looked at him and smiled slightly, when Magnus had finished he walked over to me "Now, time for you to put them on for the rest of the evening, you'll want to look nice for this grand meeting" Magnus chuckled

"What? Right now?" I nearly squealed with excitement, Magnus grabbed the helmet within his talons and place the slightly heavier than expected, helmet on my head, he fitted around me properly, I could see perfectly, breathing wasn't hard either, just the helmet was heavy, I lifted my head to keep it up straight

"Don't think you need to balance it, it's not balanced it's just the way it feels" he explained "it is fitted perfectly to your head shape don't worry about that" he chuckled "Now here's the tricky bit" he picked up the claws for me to hook mine into, I did so with both feet, Magnus bent down towards my feet and clenched each tassel with his beak, and hooked it under a metal hook that was wrapped around my talon, I tried to remember this for later on, it took 5 minutes for him to attach my claws to my talons, he stepped a few steps backwards "How does that feel?" he opened his wing gesturing for me to walk, I took a few steps, and the metal felt so, natural, so comforting, I didn't have any trouble with walking in them, and the weight on my head had adjusted, I felt like a _real _soldier

"Thank you Magnus, the others will be along in a moment, I'm taking Zara to the Gathering, I'll see you there later" Nyra flew out of the cavern, indicating for me to follow, I leaped off of the cavern's ledge

"Thank you Magnus, for the most brilliant of Battle claws" I called to him as I flew off

"You're welcome little one!" I heard him call after me as I caught up with Mother "Don't go getting killed" he whispered

I followed Mother to the Great Gathering Hall, She landed on the great caverns perch, while I landed on the floor beneath

"Zara, Metalbeak will be here soon, so will the fully fledged soldiers of St Aegolius and the Pure Ones, I am going to get your classmates and get them suited, I want you to stay here and wait for the army and Metalbeak, you _will_ have to listen to him about our plans to bring order to the Owl Kingdoms, they will be here soon, so wait for your classmates and then the meeting will begin, farewell Zara" she instructed me, I bowed my head and she leaped off of the ledge and flew back to the Armoury _Well, now what do I do? _I looked around the cavern, it was wide and hollow _Hm? Maybe a little flying practice? _I extended my wings, then took off, letting the air ruffle through my feathers, I tilted my left wing upwards and circled clockwise around the entire cavern _Ok, so my steering has improved _I shut my wings together and dived to the bottom of the hollow, I opened my wings at last second and swooped upwards _Neat little trick_ I then heard a few voices behind me, I leaned downwards and landed on the rocky floor, I turned to see Jace, he had a simple helmet on and claws, I felt that he was different, I didn't know at the time but I could sense it, I walked up to him and he greeted me

"Hello Zara, I like your Battle Claws, very nice design"

"Hi Jace, thanks, yours are nice too" I smiled "Though it is a bit heavy"

"I know, but I guess we'll have to get used to it" he paused "Especially for tomorrow" I cocked my head

"Why? What's happening tomorrow?"

"I'm not supposed to tell" he smiled slightly "But I don't really have to say, Metalbeak's going to tell us in a few minutes" I nodded "C'mon, let's get a good spot" Jace put his wing around me and we walked to the front of the cavern, infront of the perch

It was about seven minutes later before all of the cavern was filled up with owls, all of them Pure One soldiers, I felt quite noble standing at the front, being part of the Pure Ones, I looked to my right and looked into Jace's eyes, his smile was friendly and loving but his eyes seemed... the opposite, not entirely but I realised what was different about Jace now, his pupils were a blood red colour, he had his usual amber colour but in the centre was two blood coloured moons, I had to smile back and just ignore his eyes, but I had a sudden panic that my eyes were the same colour _W-What if my eyes are that colour? And what does it mean? _

"Jace can I ask you something?" I questioned him

"Yes what is it?"

"Erm, are my... no, I mean what colour are my eyes?" I knew I looked and sounded stupid and idiotic but I had to know

"The same colour they always are, dark brown"

"No, I mean my pupils?"

"Black, what's brought all this on?"

"Um, well, I, I had a sudden panic that my pupils were dark brown and my eyes were black" he looked confused

"Ok, what was it, a bad dream?"

"Yeah, that's it" I looked down at the ground, I suddenly heard a flutter of wings above me, I shot my head up and saw Mother and Metalbeak flying towards the perching, they looked as if they were descending from the moon itself, I stood up straight and watched as they landed on the perch, Mother stood on the lower ledge of the perch, and Metalbeak stood on the centre of the top ledge of the perch, he stood there for a few moments that felt like forever, he was looking out over us, his children, my heart stopped for a moment and then he spoke

"My soldiers" he began "My sons" _and Daughters _"Many of you have heard of me in late night whisperings, but I assure you I am not, a myth, I am real and I stand before you with one simple truth, the strong shall rule the weak" there was a cheer of agreement that swept through the crowd, I could feel a strong feeling swell within me, sort of like an anger and rage emotion, like I could lash out at any moment "Long ago I was viscously attacked by the coward Lyze of Kiel for defending that truth, now I wear this mask to consume my scars, but the metal is strong, it is a symbol of the Pure ones strength and resolve, it is time to set a fire that will consume the owl kingdoms and take back what is rightfully ours, because we are Tytos, we are Pure Ones, and I am, Metalbeak!" Everyone cheered, including me and Jace, then the soldiers started chanting, while stomping their right leg

"Metalbeak, Metalbeak!" they chanted, I then copied and me and Jace chanted together, I felt that emotion rise and swell within myself

"Metalbeak! Metalbeak! Metalbeak!_ Metalbeak!_"


	13. Purity Chapter 13

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 13 ~ Realisation

I saw Mother leap off of the perch and soar around the top, I carried on chanting while watching her, she was so elegant, her white feathers shone in the light of the moon, I watched as she circled the audience, until she swerved off course and landed on a ledge, I looked at who she was talking to, and I felt my heart break, it was Kludd.

I stopped for a second; she would go talk to Kludd and not talk to her own daughter? I felt so disgusted and heartbroken, I heard the chanting of the Pure One Soldiers, time seemed to slow down... and then I felt it, the emotion within me snapped, I felt my beak curve into a silent snarl, I looked up at Metalbeak, the moon shining behind him, my talons started stamping on the ground, my vision shimmered slightly, then the entire scene seemed to shimmer in a blood red colour, I shook it away, I decided that it was my tears forming, I lifted my wing and wiped away the droplets, I then leaned against Jace, I needed a small bit of comfort, he seemed surprised but we carried on chanting, I looked up at Metalbeak, he opened his right wing, we quieted down, he began to speak again

"Whispers about an informer have swept throughout St Aegolius, and I want to confirm these suspicions" Metalbeak stood up tall, I looked at Jace in confusion

"Do I miss everything that goes on in here?" I whispered, slightly jokingly

"Well, you're the High Tyto's daughter, they probably didn't want you to get hurt or change" I cocked my head

"Change?"

"Well, in case you didn't like the plans, you might have gone to The Guardians?" he suggested

"There's that word again 'Guardian'" I pondered _I remember Krietra saying about that... and almost killing me for asking _"Who are they?" Jace seemed a bit confused on how I didn't know

"They're these group of owls that want to stop the Pure Ones" he explained bluntly "You can read more about them but there isn't much more that you _need _to know" he explained bluntly, I didn't bother asking more questions and just listened to Metalbeak

"Our informant, 'The Guardian', is coming tonight, he will be coming with back up, and I need every owl to play his part" he explained "You will be given a post, and a job to do by your higher ranking owls" he moved on his perch "And once the tree owls have had a taste of Pure One Victory, we will set a trap, that will confuse their Gizzards, and we will become the high kings and queens of all the owl kingdoms!" he opened his wings high above his head, we began chanting again _I need to find Grimble, and ask him if he wants to join us again... _I stomped my talon and continued chanting

"Metalbeak! Metalbeak!" after a few more moments of chanting he signalled us to stop, I stood up tall, savouring on Metalbeak's words, I felt Jace nudge me for a moment with his wing, I looked at him and mouthed words at him "In a minute" he nodded and we both looked up at Metalbeak

"Now, go to your stations" he turned around on his perch, facing the moonlight, he then opened his wings wide and swooped off into the night, I looked at Jace and I noticed that the other owls were making their way to their hollows, stations and posts

"I just realised something Zara" he murmured

"What?"

"You're next in line to rule the Pure Ones" he smiled at his words

"O-Oh yeah! Y-You're right!" I was surprised myself, I hadn't even noticed before, I guess I was too caught up in impressing Mother instead of realising that I would take the throne _after _Mother

"Anyway, I'd guess we'd better go find Nyra" I nodded and I looked up at where Kludd was, Nyra was still there, but she was looking over the ledge, staring at me, I knew she knew that I had seen her

"I know _exactly _where she is" I said in a tone that seemed to surprise Jace for a moment, but I turned around and opened my wings, I jumped into the air and flapped my wings, rising into the cool night air, I swooped into the air, towards the ledge, once I got close enough I outstretched my talons and gripped the ledge, landed on the edge, I walked inwards a few more steps and closed my wings, I bowed my head

"Mother" Jace landed next to me, I looked up and saw Nyra smiling slightly, it was a cunning, fox like grin

"Zara" she returned the greeting, she then signalled for us to follow her, I looked and saw Kludd next to a sleeping owlet, she had fluffy creamy down, I looked up at Mother "This is called Moon Blinking" _Moon Blinking?_ I cocked my head slightly to the side and saw that the owlet was sleeping in the light of the full moon 'This should be good' "We'll check on her in the morning, but Zara and Kludd, I want you to do a _very_ special task" Kludd walked up to me and stood next to me, I nodded as so did he

"What is it?" I felt myself slowly forgiving Mother but I still wasn't positively sure that she cared more for me than Kludd

"As Metalbeak said, 'The Guardian' will be coming here in the morning, I need you and Kludd to take two Moon Blinked owlets to him, and make sure he takes them back to their beloved tree" she explained our mission, I smirked and nodded

"Of course, it will be done without any problems" I said

"Which other owlet?" Kludd asked _Other? So you're using that owlet there?_

"A Pelletorium Owlet" she said plainly "Any will do" she turned and faced the small owlet "Jace, go talk to Jatt, he will instruct you on your jobs"

"Yes my Queen" I heard him fly off and as soon as his wing beats disappeared into the night, I looked at Mother

"You two, have a rest before you select the other owlet, you have until morning" she said as she walked towards the sleeping owlet, we nodded and I turned sharply and leaped off of the ledge, I opened my wings and flew off out of the cavern, I looked around for a moment to see where I was _Great, I need to find Grimble ASAP and I'm lost_ I snorted but then flew upwards, gaining height, I then recognised a tall pillar _Aha! That's Grimble's old hollow!_ I started flying as fast as I could towards the pillar, faster and faster I pounded my wings, my heart pumping rapidly in my chest, once I got to the top of the pillar I swooped downwards to the back of the pillar, I gained great speed which made my feathers prick with excitement, I was a metre above the ledge that I left Grimble on, I opened my wings wide and lightly landed on the ledge

"Grimble?" I looked into the small cave but there was no reply, I walked in to find no owl there "Grimble? This isn't funny now! Where are you?" I called and my voice echoed throughout the cave, I looked down and saw a note at my talons, I picked it up within my talon and hopped out of the cave, I unfolded the note a read it in the faint moonlit night

"Dear Zara, it has become clear to me now that you are one of them, and I was disappointed once I found out, you are so much more Zara, I know that you are trying to please your mother but it's just like she's controlling you. I've decided that I'll die trying to see my family again, my wings have sort of healed and I think I can just about fly, as I'm writing this, I'll soon be leaving so I would just like to let you know Zara, that you are a very promising owl, and a very special owl too, you remind me so much of my daughter it's uncanny, but just don't let others decide your fate child  
>From your Sitter that still loves you<br>-G"

I was shocked by his letter, a few tears welled up in my eyes but I blinked them away _But... I like being here_ I turned away swiftly and flew out of the cave, going back home, to Mothers and my hollow.

I landed on the ledge outside of my hollow, I closed my wings and stood there for a few moments, I was so ashamed that I couldn't even look after Grimble for even less than a week, I sighed and then walked into my hollow _Atleast he can find his family now... If they're still alive_ I shook my head, trying to forget everything about Grimble _I told mother I saw him dead, so no difference really, just forget it_ I walked into my hollow to find an owl stood there, he was a Tyto, he had brown and white feathers, his face was as white as the snow

"Who are you? This is my hollow" I demanded, but he didn't answer "If you're not going to answer me then get out!" I shouted, he didn't seemed phased or even surprised that I had given him an order "Who are you?"

"Grettir" he said simply

"Grettir? What are you, a supervisor to the Pelletorium?" I turned around and faced the Pelletorium, I then turned back and to my surprise, he had gone _...Okay..._ I was slightly confused and surprised but I let it pass _It must just be stress or something_


	14. Purity Chapter 14

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 14 ~ Finding Out

I turned around and faced where the owl used to be _He just... disappeared? I _must _be tired... _I walked over to my nest, it was cold but the feathers and down in it warmed my body, I began to shut my eyes, until I heard a scream, I shot upwards and flew out of my hollow and landed on the ledge outside _What was-? _I saw a small grey owl trying to flee, it flew pass my ledge, I then saw guards about three seconds away _Ugh they're so slow! _I leaped off and began chase for the brown owl, I flapped my wings and I had suddenly began speeding across the sky, soaring after it at a fast pace, I saw a flash of the brown bird turning into the blue bird I tried to catch a few days ago _I won't miss again! _I outstretched my talons and within a split second, the owl was trapped within my talons, I swooped upwards and turned around, and waited for the guards

"Well done my Princess" They bowed their heads "This one tried to escape" it squirmed in my talons, I looked down at it

"Did this one come from the Pelletorium?" I asked, they nodded "Get him moon blinked and then bring him to me in the morning" I ordered them, they obeyed and took the owl from me _No need to find an owlet now _I chuckled to myself and looked around _You see Grimble? This is _my _home, _my _family and _my _life! _I turned around and started gliding across the wind, I lazily flew across St Aegolius, I kept my eye out for owls, I occasionally saw some being moon blinked, but carried on flying, I felt a relaxed feeling warming me from inside, I glided about on the warm air, I was too excited and hyped up from the chase to go back to sleep, I swerved towards the right and flew up to the Forge, I saw a entrance then swerved down the tunnel, I avoided the rocky walls and saw a bright, red light, I flew out into a clear area, with the Blacksmith Magnus, I landed next to him and folded my wings back, his head turned to face me and he seemed slightly surprised, he turned his whole body towards me

"Oh, hello Zara, been out for a bit of flying I see?" he chuckled

"Heh, yeah, just some owlet fleeing from the Pelletorium" I looked at my talons, at how they sparkled in a red glow "But I caught it, it's going to be moon blinked and then taken to the Guardians"

"Well well! Great catch Zara" he praised "You must be tired now?"

"Hardly" I smiled "I'm still itching for a race" I rustled my feathers, he seemed to chuckle again

"Oh well, you'll have to count me out, I'm not one for fast flying anymore"

"Aww, ok" I joked, he smiled

"So is you're armour still fine?" he questioned

"Even better" I replied, I then remembered the owl in my hollow "Um, Magnus, could I ask you a question about the owls in this place?"

"Of course, what is it you want to know?"

"W-Well, when I got back to my hollow, I saw a tyto alba in my hollow, just standing there, I questioned him and looked at the Pelletorium, but when I turned around he was gone" I explained as briefly as I could

"His name?" he asked

"I think it was... oh yes, Grettir, his name was Grettir" he seemed to freeze

"A-Are you quite sure?" I nodded "There maybe something you need to know child" I was slightly confused

"Who is this Grettir?" I asked

"Well, Grettir was a warrior, and an acolyte, he mainly spent his time in The Glauxian Brothers Retreat, at Perrock, he was well known within the Pure Ones, since he fought against us" I snorted

"Then why was he in my Hollow?" I paused "And what do you mean by 'was'?"

"Well, when I say 'was', is because he was killed-" I cut him off

"Killed? _Killed? _B-But I saw him! In my h-hollow!" I stuttered

"I think... you might have seen a Scroom... especially since you never even heard of him before"

"A Scroom? What's that?" I asked

"It's a spirit of a dead owl, but Glaux knows why he arrived" he paused "to you... If you need more answers my dear I think you should go talk to 'The Guardian' his name is Allomere" I nodded

"Well, um, I'm a bit freaked out now but I'd better get back to my hollow, thank you Magnus" I smiled and outstretched my wings, he returned my smile and nodded his head, I started flapping and within a second I was halfway out of the Forge, I flew left and right as fast as I could to get back to my hollow

I landed on the ledge outside of my hollow, I was tired from the fast flying and it was nearly dawn, I recollected my thoughts and walked into the chamber to find mother asleep, she opened one eye as I stepped closer towards her and the nest

"You were up late last night" she spoke and then yawned

"We're Tytos, we were _born _to fly in the night" I replied smiling, puffing out my feathers to let them shine in the morning light, I then took my place next to mother and slowly closed my eyes "Sadly, now I'm tired, after capturing a fleeing owlet" Mother's head shot up

"You did what?"

"An owlet was escaping from the Pelletorium, I gave chase and caught it within my talons, I ordered the Guards to moonblink it and give it to you in the morning to give to 'The Guardian'" I explained the scenario

"Very well done Zara!" she actually did seem pleased with me, I couldn't help smiling and I closed my eyes "You are turning into an _excellent _Pure One Soldier" a warm feeling rose inside me again

"Thank you Mother, Good light" I replied smiling

"Good light my Zara" I couldn't help my thoughts drift off towards the owl, well, Scroom, that visited me _So out of all of the owls in St Aegolius, why did he come to me?_

**They're getting shorter and shorter D:**


	15. Purity Chapter 15

**Well, I thought I'd best update this! XD**

Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

Purity

Chapter 15 ~ Old Acquaintances

With a yawn my eye lids reluctantly slide open, my vision was blurry due to the fatigue but after a few more blinks I was able to see clearly again, well, clear enough to see that it was still morning, very _very _early in the morning, as though the moon had just slipped down and the sun had not risen yet, I fluffed up my feathers, an uncomfortable chill blew up my spine, my thoughts were dragged back to the owl who had visited me _How on earth... did a Scroom..._I shook my head and the thought away, feeling the chill get colder up my bones, I felt like if I didn't see another living being I would probably turn into a solid block of ice, I shot up my body and craned my neck around to survey all of my hollow, I was alone, alone in the dim light, in silence, I lowered my gaze and a thought started to tug at my brain _I swear... that there is something I must be doing tonight_ but suddenly the silence and my thoughts were broken, two Pure One Soldiers poked their head outside of my hollow entrance

"My Lady Zara?" One of the soldiers spoke, I stood up, flattening my feathers back down and staring at the two with a smile

"Yes? What is it?" I asked, as I took a few steps forward, the sky looked as though it was on fire, smokey, dark, flickering, like a flame, I looked at the two, they wore their usual armour, and their pupils were crimson, blood crimson, one of them nodded

"We have brought the Moon Blinked Owlet for you" He took a step to the side, to show a grey owlet in a basket, lying flat on his back, staring into space, his pupils nearly as grey as his plumage, resembling that of the moon, I smiled, I had only just recently captured this fleeing owl, and Mother had asked me to bring one Owlet for this morning _This morning! The Guardian is coming! _I thought in panic _Mother asks me to do _one _thing, and I screw it up already! _The other soldier smiled "And we're here to escort you to the... The Snare, as your Mother calls it" he smiled, I couldn't help making a small, silent sigh of relief _Phew, so I'm not late! _I nodded and took a step towards them

"Thank you, let's be gone then" I dipped my head to them and then swooped off of the ledge, pounding my wings hard in the still and dry air, I twisted my head around to see the Pure One Soldiers behind me, one carrying the basket with the owlet while the other flew up beside me

"I'm surprised you don't remember me" he chuckled, I tipped my head, curious to what he meant

"I'm sorry I don't follow" I said to them before twisting my body around to face him in his eyes, I racked my brain, but there was nothing that I could find that would make me remember this stranger

"It's me, Nyx!" he chuckled _Nyx...? Oh Nyx! Wow he's gotten bigger, and now a Pure One Soldier? He must be good at his job! _I looked at my fellow training Owl with a smile

"Oh Nyx! So sorry I didn't recognise you" I smiled before he started flying towards 'The Snare' with me by his side, he just simply chuckled

"Nor me!" The owl behind me with the basket now flew by me on ther otherside "It's Zaine" he smiled

"Zaine! It's been awhile!" I looked at the two with a grin, a reunion in one of the most unlikely places definitely raised my spirits and made me more wake "I'm so sorry I didn't recognise the two of you" Nyx rolled his eyes jokingly

"I don't blame you for not recognising us, we've both grown, well we all have, since we last saw you" Nyx explained

"And our faces are covered with these things" Zaine finished Nyx's sentence smirked

"Well atleast you two _do _have that helmet on your face, that means you're both soldiers right?" I queried as I matched their pace, the two both flashed each other a look and then their gaze dragged back to me

"Well, sort of, we're just 'trainees', we have been given this assignment so that we will get a promotion to the Pelletorium" Zaine explained while I listened intently

"Atleast our armour will be improved, maybe someday it'll be as important and as lovely as yours" Nyx complimented, it had taken me a few moments to realise that I was still wearing my black and red armour, I smiled

"What do you mean?" I asked _What does he mean by 'important'? _I couldn't help thinking

"Well, our armour shows what rank we are correct?" Zaine began

"Um... I guess so..." I looked at the two intriguingly, waiting for them to continue

"In short, you're armour is one of the third most important armours there are, third to Nyra and Metalbeak" My eyes widened at Nyx's words _I've... wow... Mother _does _really want it known that I'm her daughter... _I smiled

"T-Thank you... for the explanation..." I didn't really want to talk and play catch up, I just wanted to get this job done _So... I have to bring Mother this other owlet... is that all? Hopefully there will be something more this time! I might even get to see this 'Guardian'! _I thought excitedly, the eagerness in my body made my blood pumped around my body quicker, and making my wings pound down faster, I smirked at Zaine and Nyx before speeding off, after a few moments they realised I was going in the wrong direction and swooped up beside me

"I-It's this way My Lady" Nyx called before steering right, I rolled my eyes _Good, atleast they're on their talons _I thought with a grin before following Nyx towards The Snare _Whatever task I am given, I swear it that I will fulfil it without fail_


End file.
